30-06 reloads hard to chamber

[Slamfire]

I got a case gage today. All the shells that won't chamber fit the gage perfectly. Now what? Like I said earlier, factory ammo is fine.

Well now you have more work to do. Somewhere you have an interference fit.

Try

1) Size a case to gage minimum and see if that chambers without a bullet. If it does, something is wrong with seating depth or the case neck is too thick.

2) Borrow a small base die and see if that allows your ammunition to chamber easily.

 

[R.Clem]

I am assuming the mil. brass wasn't fired in your rifle otherwise it would chamber. Get a small base sizer die and resize all cases that were not fired in your rifle with it. These dies are the exact minimum of what ever caliber they are for.
Some years back I acquired 1500 rounds of 308 mil. match brass, had the same problem you are having. I spent the $$ and got a small base sizer die and ran all brass that wasn't fired in my rifle threw it. No more problem. Pick up any and all brass for your '06 with the confidence that you will be able to resize, load and shoot it.

Ray

 

[Randy1911]

Success!!!!!

I took my shellholder for my single stage press and filed it down and took about .005" off the top so I could run the sizer die down a little more. My reloads will now chamber easily the way factory ammo does. The shell now goes just a hair below Minimum on the case gage. Will this hurt anything?

 

[243winxb]

The shell now goes just a hair below Minimum on the case gage. Will this hurt anything?

You may be OK, but the only way to know for sure is take an accurate measurement. See info in the link. Cartridge headspace as it fits the chamber should not be more than .010" IMO. If the shoulder is pushed back to much, you get case separations like you see here. Photos > http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=523746 This is a case head separation. >>

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[blackwalnut]

Hey Randy Dont force those shells into your rifle. Everyone is making this too complicated. You did not mention if you are using once fired brass from another rifle. As you know brass expands upon firing to fit the chamber of the rifle and then springs back slightly but never to its original size. It has a memory. If you resize brass that was fired in another rifle that resized brass also wants to spring back slightly after resizing and consequently may not fit your chamber. Your Remington and the other rifle may be the same caliber but were cut with different reamers in various stages of wear. Too many variables. Sometimes military brass will give you a headache even if fired in your own rifle. It known to be made thicker and may have a stronger memory. After all its not made to be reloaded its made to durable for use in all types of military weapons such as machine guns. It has to stand up to heat, vibration, and rough handling and whatever else warfare can dish out. Keep it simple I think the reasons is what I stated. Get some commercial brass. Midway, Natchez and Mid south all sell brass.

PS : Most die makers dont recommend small base dies for rifles other than the semi-autos. SB dies work the brass more and you have to be careful about it for service rifles. Remember keep it simple. You dont need headaches from head seperation.

 

[Sunray]

"...once-fired military mixed headstamped..." Did you full length resize 'em? Any once fired brass requires it. Check the lengths too.
Milsurp .30-06 is a bit thicker than commercial brass too. You must reduce the powder charge by 10%. That has nothing to do with chambering though.
Mind you, good commercial .30-06 brass isn't scarce or expensive. Wouldn't bother with milsurp brass myself.

 

[Kraylon]

my dad hard your same issue with a 700 adl and he took it to a gun smith and they found that the action was a little under sized my dad had the gun smith open it up a very smalll amount and it now takes ammo just fine with out any issues.

i didnt read the whole 2 pages of this thread.

 

[Innovative]

Here's another way ...

This is what I use to measure the clearance that MY handloads have in MY particular chamber. Your fired cases are like a casting of your chamber, and comparing your handloads to a fired case displays the actual chamber clearance at the shoulder. Very quick and easy to use, it works on ALL calibers and you'll never see another headspace separation. It shows exactly how to set your die height for resizing and for bullet seating.

​

Our (patented) Digital Headspace Gauge is now being used by over 700 shooters. Check it out on my website.

- Innovative Technologies

 

[Randy1911]

I took one of the factory shells that chamber okay. I put it in the case gage and it went a few thousandths below flush. By filing a few thousandths off the top of the shellholder so my die will screw down a little farther. My reloads now gage like the factory and chamber with no problem. I guess I just have a tight chamber.

 

[Innovative]

Randy1911 .....

How do you know how factory ammo fits in YOUR particular chamber. If you could measure your chamber and compare your handloads to that, you could make "perfect" fitting loads for your particular chamber.

Factory made ammo is only concerned with one firing. If your shoulder is pushed back too far, your handloads will chamber . . . . but exactly how far will your cases stretch each time they're fired? That stretch is what causes all case head separations.

Factory ammo needs to fit in the tightest chamber anywhere (in a particular caliber). Handloaders have a real advantage over the ammo factories when they know the exact size of "their" particular chamber.

- Innovative

 

[Randy1911]

I took one of the factory shells that chamber okay. I put it in the case gage and it went a few thousandths below flush. By filing a few thousandths off the top of the shellholder so my die will screw down a little farther. My reloads now gage like the factory and chamber with no problem. I guess I just have a tight chamber.

Inovative: Like I said above, I compared the factory ammo to the way it gaged and made my reloads the same. I will only neck size the brass after firing so they will be a good fit in the chamber.

 

[Innovative]

Randy .....

You didn't understand my last post. I know that factory loads appear to fit fine in your rifle. However, careful handloaders have a huge advantage over the ammo factories. You can measure the actual chamber clearance (at the shoulder) that any load will have in YOUR particular chamber. That's the main reason why precision handloads can be more accurate than factory ammo.

Factory ammo is only concerned with one firing. Your handloads are fired over and over. If your shoulder is pushed back too far (like factory loads), your handloads will chamber . . . . but exactly how far will your cases stretch each time they're fired? That stretch is what eventually causes case head separations.

Factory ammo needs to fit in the tightest chamber anywhere, so they are intentionally made undersized. Like I said, handloaders have a real advantage over the ammo factories when they know the exact size of "their" particular chamber and their loads. Factory ammo is almost always going to be quite undersized. It will always chamber . . . . but it's rarely a good fit.

- Innovative